


who tells your story

by siojo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bets & Wagers, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Marineford Arc, Paranoia, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Teasing, mentioned Portgas D Rouge/Gol D Roger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 02:59:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16317836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siojo/pseuds/siojo
Summary: Shanks knew that Luffy hadn't had a brother the last time that he had seen him, but he also doesn't doubt that Luffy could get one, he was good with things like that. But that doesn't mean he's not suspicious, not when Blackbeard is still trying to kill him.





	who tells your story

**Author's Note:**

> alternative title: Portgas D Rouge didn't die for this shit.

“Luffy never mentioned a brother,” Shanks says after Ace’s finished thanking him, his crew hovering in the background. It’s too soon, he thinks, for Blackbeard to try again, but he’s been wrong before and he doesn’t want to risk it. “Certainly not one that was older than him. Would have remembered if there was a second kid running around after him to make him stop.”

 

Ace ducks his head, hand going to the back of his neck and Shanks doesn’t need to see Benn to know that his pistol is already pointing at the kid, hidden, but ready to take him should the need arise, “After you left, Luffy’s gramps came home and was less than happy to find you had been around. Brought him to live with the people that took care of me for him.”

 

“And you didn’t live together?”

 

“I was adopted, technically. Gramps agreed to take me in, thought it was safer with some bandits he knew in the mountains, I suppose. Brought Luffy up after you left, thought you might steal him.”

 

Ace looks like he’s telling the truth, he certainly reads as honest, which is in his favor. He’s at least honest, he knows Luffy and if he honestly knows Luffy, Shanks gestures softly for Benn to lower his gun, grinning widely.

 

“Well, any friend of Luffy’s is more than welcome here,” Shanks laughs, eyes narrowed as he watches Ace’s face light up. “You got a name there, Ace?”

 

“Portgas D Ace,” Ace answers, but he doesn’t move closer. “I’m Portgas D Ace.”

 

“Come over here with me, I would love to hear how Luffy is doing, if you don’t mind?” Shanks knows that Benn will get him for this later, no matter what he thinks, or how trustworthy Ace seems, not when Blackbeard’s men had almost poisoned him just a few days back. “And the rest of Fuusha.”

 

“Captain,” he hears one of Ace’s men mutter almost too soft. “Do you think-”

 

Ace turns and grins, still as bright and easy as the first, “It’s fine, Deuce. It’s Shanks.”

 

“That’s exactly what I mean, Ace,” Deuce hisses, gesturing and Shanks thinks he’s suppose to be polite and ignore it, but he’s not. He’s going to watch this and see what Deuce has to say about him. “This is a Yonko.”

 

“I know that,” Ace says tilting his head the same way Luffy always did when he was confused by something. “I came here to see Shanks, who else would it be?”

 

That’s adorable, Shanks decides as he watches Deuce try and fail to explain whatever it is that means that Ace should follow him back down the mountain and away from Shanks and his crew. Trying to protect him, which means that he at least has the support of his crew. But Ace seems to be tired of the argument, moving to drop down down on the log opposite Shanks.

 

“You know Makino, yeah?” Ace asks instead of answering the hissed call of his name. “Don’t you?”

 

“I know Makino, she’s great. Best booze in East Blue,” Shanks laughs, relaxing as he lets Benn take over watching them. “She still let Luffy keep that tab?”

 

“His treasure tab,” Ace says shaking his head. “She’s going to get so much money from him. But I’ve been sending back some too. I owe her a lot too,” he laughs, pushing his hat back and something about his face is bright and familiar. “I keep taking some of my share of the treasure to pay her.”

 

“She’s got a tab for you too?” Shanks asks curiously.

 

“She came marching up to Dadan’s place, the lady who was in-charge of the bandits that we were with, because Gramps took Luffy away and she was worried. Was pretty shocked to find me already up there, but she,” he looks down at his hands and looks so much younger. “She taught me a lot and was always willing to help us.”

 

Shanks smiles, “That sounds like her. She was quite the woman, stood up to me more than once. And she took quite the liking to Luffy ages before I showed up and took care of him for his grandfather. Garp, right?”

 

“Gramps,” Ace nods. “He’s been visiting more, think he was trying to catch me running off to become a pirate. He wasn’t too impressed by Luffy and I declaring we were going to be pirates.”

 

“Planning on being the Pirate King, too?” Shanks means it to be joking, because what person wouldn’t want to take Roger’s throne? He and Whitebeard don’t count, they never have, be he doesn’t expect the dark look that crosses Ace’s face. “Sorry?”

 

“I have no plans to be the Pirate King, that’s Luffy’s dream. I just want to be infamous in my own right, to prove beyond a doubt that I’m free,” Ace looks like he has more to say, like there’s something else there, but he doesn’t. “He doesn’t stop talking about that or how you gave him that hat.”

 

Shanks laughs, he wasn’t expecting that, “I thought I should pass it on. My captain gave it to me years ago and I think it suited Luffy better.”

 

Ace doesn’t laugh and even his smile falters for a moment, “Luffy, he said that you were on the Oro Jackson?”

 

“I was,” Shanks agrees softly. “Just a cabin boy, but I was young. Was still young when we disbanded, before the execution.”

 

“My mother,” Ace pauses, as if he’s trying to collect his thoughts. “From what I’ve been able to find out, she would have some meetings with the Oro. Luffy said you may know her, Portgas D Rouge?”

 

Shanks blinks slowly, but can’t help the slow grin spreading across his face, “Ms. Rouge? Your mom is Ms Rouge?”

 

“Was,” Ace corrects softly. “She died giving birth to me,” he glances up at Shanks. “I’m seventeen.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Shanks says softly and he is. He liked Rouge, the way she laughed when he and Buggy pulled pranks and taught them how to pull even more without getting caught. And for all that she had liked Roger, she was just as likely to kiss him because she wanted to as she was to use a kiss to distract him from a prank she wanted to catch him in. “She was,” he gestures helplessly. “She was a happy woman, loved playing pranks.”

 

“Pranks?” Ace asks, eyes lighting up like he’s never heard this before. “Mom liked pranks?”

 

“She loved them, she taught the other cabin boy, Buggy, and I how to be better at them. I saw her catch Garp with one once, was a pretty simple on, to be honest. I thought he would notice but then she’d tripped him and the bucket fell on his head,” Shanks laughs, because this is one of the things he remembers about her best. The pranks and the happy way she had carried herself when she had been on the Oro. “She use to get Roger with them all the time, flirting-”

 

“Oh.”

 

Shanks sighs, “Did you know? That your mother and Roger, they were together for a while. I, when I didn’t hear from her, I assumed she was murdered,” he leans forward, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and avoid the memory. “There were a number of people, good people, that didn’t make it through.”

 

“I know. Hard not to,” Ace says looking at his hands, like they’re the most fascinating thing that he could imagine. “Gramps, that man asked him to look after her.”

 

“That man?”

 

Ace looks up, something missing from his face and, for a moment, it’s not Rouge that Ace reminds Shanks of, “My father. He, he asked Gramps to take care of my mother, because he knew what would happen after.”

 

“You don’t have to tell me about your father, not if you don’t want to.”

 

“Luffy said you would want to know,” Ace says softly, fingers flexing in a habit that Shanks knew wasn’t one that Rouge had. “That you needed to know.”

 

“Kid, there’s nothing you can say that would change that you don’t have to tell me anything. It’s your choice and I’m not going to force you,” Shanks says, picking up one of the glasses that Benn had left at his side and shoving it into Ace’s hands. “Relax, kid.”

 

“I’m not suppose to drink,” Ace mutters spinning it in his hands. “Gramps says that I get too talkative when I drink too much,” there’s something that could almost be a smile on his face. “Luffy thought it was funny.”

 

“Luffy thinks that a lot of things are funny,” Shanks agrees, because he might remember Luffy as a child, but he had high hopes that he remained much the same. “Your Gramps let you drink?”

 

“He wanted me to be a marine, but I know a lot of things. I know Luffy exists and who his dad is, not to mention other things,” Ace stops, spinning the glass again. “Mom, she extended her pregnancy.”

 

Shanks frowns, “Can women do that?”

 

“Gramps thinks it was haki. He doesn’t know, he arrived in time to hear her name me before she died. I guess the human body can’t withstand the pressure of being pregnant for that long,” Ace pauses and takes a deep breath before sipping at his glass.

 

“You make it sound like it was a long time.”

 

“Estimating by what little Gramps could put together?” Ace eyes his drink and takes another, larger, pull from it, hurriedly glancing to and away from Shanks again. “Twenty months.”

 

“Twenty? Why would she-” Shanks stops, feeling like there’s ice in his lungs. “Ace?”

 

“Mom must have really loved him. Roger, I mean. That’s one of the few things that Gramps told me. When she named me, she gave me my father’s last name, but Gramps gave me her’s. It was safer, after all. Who would think to look for his son almost two years too late and with the wrong last name?”

 

Shanks opens his mouth and nothing comes out, not even when he tries again, his breath hitching. He can feel his eyes burning and something wet moving down his face.

 

“Shanks?”

 

“You-,” Shanks doesn’t know how to finish that sentence. He doesn’t know how to say anything and it’s burning in his chest because unless he’s wrong, unless he's very, very wrong, this is exactly who the Marines had killed so many for, and  _ failed _ . “Your father?”

 

“Oh, you need me to say it,” Ace looks like he’s preparing to say something that’s dreadful and hated, and Shanks will deal with that in a minute because he needs to hear it. “Gol D Roger,” Ace whispers. “That’s my father’s name.”

 

“You, you lived,” Shanks wants to laugh, bitter and elated in equal measures, but there’s so much pain in the memories of the year after Roger’s execution. There’s so many dead, friends that had gotten pregnant at the wrong time or had children with the wrong colored hair or eyes. Shanks remembers them, even if they’re tainted now. “You-”

 

“You’re not upset.”

 

“Why would I be upset?” Shanks asks shaking his head. “Ace, so many people died after Roger. Crew and allies, but the worst hunts were for his child. Not sure how the Marines even knew that there was a possibility of him having a kid, but they killed so many. There was one island that we had gone to once, I guess the Marines thought we had slipped there just before disbanding, they killed every pregnant woman and child that could either look like Roger or couldn’t perfectly account for the father or their child.”

 

Ace looks ill, Shanks isn’t glad to tell him this, but he wants to explain why he’s so pleased to see Ace. To see him alive and healthy, because Shanks had thought that if Roger’s child had existed, the Marines had murdered them. But Ace  _ lived _ .

 

“Rouge was always the strongest person that I knew,” Shanks says softly. “If anyone could extend their pregnancy that long to hide their kid, it would have been her.”

 

“She loved him,” Ace shrugs like it's a given but he doesn't say that she loved him.

 

“And you. There no way that your mom didn't love you so much. I knew Rouge well, I think that I can say that she loved you so much too.”

 

Ace stares at him for a long, too long, moment, “I killed her.”

 

Shanks can't believe that anyone, even Garp, would let Ace grow up thinking that, “Kid, I knew your mom. Rouge helped me sneak alcohol from storage and taught me almost as much about being on the sea as Roger did. Trust me when I say, Rouge loved you.”

 

“She loved me?”

 

“That’s not a question, Ace,” Shanks says leaning forward to steady the glass in Ace’s hands. “Your mom, Rouge loved you. She wanted a baby, she wanted you for so long and it wasn’t the right time or something happened, but she loved you.”

 

Shanks isn’t sure what he expects, but tears were definitely part of it. Ace’s shaking as he sobs, tiny bitten off things that speak of exactly how much attention tears had gotten him before, because no one cried quietly without a reason.

 

“She,” Ace’s breath hiccups. “You think so?”

 

“Oh kid, your mom would have done anything for you. Absolutely anything and anyone who ever even hints otherwise, is wrong. Portgas D Rouge would have fought armies for you, and she did,” Shanks grins, hoping it looks happy, when Ace wipes his face and looks questioning. “Well, she kept you from the Marines, technically that’s resisting an army at least.”

 

Ace laughs, more hiccupping sob than laugh, but close, “You really think she loved me?”

 

“What? Do we have to make some kind of promise?” Shanks teases. “Rouge loved you, shit. She probably still loves you and wants you to be happy. That’s all parents want for their children, Ace.” Shanks wishes that he had known about Ace sooner, that he could do more. Because no one should think they killed their mother. “Better?”

 

“Yeah,” Ace sniffs, rubbing his eyes, but he’s smiling. It’s soft and barely there, but it’s a smile. “I, no one ever told me that she loved me. I think maybe gramps meant to, but he knew, knows, more about that man.”

 

Shanks rolls his eyes, “Garp’s own kid ran off and started a revolutionary army, he’s not exactly the person that I would entrust with the safety and wellbeing of a child.”

 

“He trusted mom to him,” Ace says softly. “I think he thought mom would be around to take care of me and Gramps would take care of her, but it didn’t work that way.”

 

“No, I suppose not,” Shanks agrees, before grinning. “But I think that we should talk about something less upsetting. How about a trade? I tell you stories about Rouge and you tell me about yourself, would that be fair?”

 

“You’d tell me stories about her?”

 

“Of course and if you really don’t want to share with me, I will still tell you stories. But I wanted to know more about you,” Shanks says stealing the glass from Ace, who pouts at him. “You said you weren’t allowed to drink much. I think this should be mine now.”

 

“Mean, I can drink more. But if you really wanna, I have some stories that I could tell you?” Ace offers, nervous and hopeful. “Tell me about mom?”

 

It’s easy to fall into a pattern, telling Ace stories about Rouge, even if he frowns when Roger is mentioned. It’s not time to try and work on that, yet. Shanks has already started planning what he’s going to do, working Ace towards a place where he can find out why Ace hates Roger so much and fix it, because Shanks is bitter. He’s bitter about the crew disbanding and loosing the place he felt at home, but he also knew it wouldn’t have lasted with how sick Roger had gotten and how little time he had left.

 

“You’re plotting,” Benn states when Ace has left them, with one last little wave. “Why are you plotting?”

 

“I’m kidnapping myself a brother.”

 

Benn raises an eyebrow, “I don’t think that’s how gaining a brother works, Shanks.”

 

“Neither is playing poker to steal your first mate and look where that got me.”

* * *

 

Marco raises an eyebrow as he looks at the paper that Haruta has spread across the table, another smaller piece with a number of calculations on top, “Should I ask?”

 

“The odds on Ace,” Haruta answers frowning over their work. “This group,” a finger taps against the first column. “Think Ace is a spy from Shanks here to take us down at our weakest.”

 

“Shanks can try,” Thatch mutters into his coffee, looking even more tired than normal. “We have Marco, even Beckman can’t match Marco.”

 

“This column is Shanks trying to steal our newest, cutest brother. Because obviously Ace is adorable and who can resist?”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

“This is about him bringing Ace home, because he keeps  _ kidnapping _ Ace and Ace won’t tell me if Shanks is doing strange things to him or threatening him and I don’t even had much blackmail on Shanks, so I have to threaten him,” Haruta sighs, tapping the pen against paper. “And you know Shanks laughs off threats.”

 

“Did you ask Ace how he felt about Shanks and his repeated kidnappings?” Marco sighs tiredly, leaning across the table to grab one of the carafes filled with coffee to pour into one of the cups littering the middle of the table. “If you don’t ask, how do you know it’s a kidnapping and not Ace wanting to spend time with Shanks?”

 

Haruta stares at Marco, face blank for a long, quiet moment, “No one wants to spend that much time with Shanks.”

 

“His crew does,” Jozu points out, yawning into his hand. “You’re invalidating all of them with that callous remark.”

 

“We all know that Beckman is the only thing keeping the rest of Red’s crew from rising up in a mutiny against him.” Haruta waves Jozu off, returning to calculations. “It’s like,” Haruta gestures trying to dig up a comparison and failing. “Anyway, these are bets.”

 

Marco hums, looking over the spreadsheet, “Who voted for Shanks knowing one of Ace’s parents?”

 

“Oh, that was Deuce, Ace’s old first mate. I told him that if he had insider information that he wasn’t allowed to place a bet, but he insists that he knows nothing. I cut his odds because i think he’s trying to cheat,” Haruta answers snatching up one of the breakfast danishes that are piled on the table and biting into it viciously. “Pops isn’t allowed to bet either, but he had his nurses say the same.”

 

“Which means that he’s probably right,” Marco says pouring another cup of coffee. “You know that Pops only bets when he knows the answers already.”

 

Haruta scowls, “But I don’t think it’s right.”

 

“You also thought that Ace was a marine spy,” Jozu reminds. “Which is not true. Just because you think that you are right doesn’t mean that you are. Sometimes you are wrong too, Haruta.”

 

“Fuck you, I’m always right,” Haruta hisses. “Just because Ace has convinced you all that he’s not a spy doesn’t mean that I’m wrong. He could absolutely be a spy.”

 

“If you think so,” Thatch yawns, staring at a carafe for a long moment. “I shouldn’t have more.”

 

“You should,” Jozu corrects pushing it closer. “Drink the caffeine, Thatch.”

 

“I don’t want too,” Thach whines. “Am I still down for Ace being Shanks’ spy?” 

 

Haruta frowns, “No, you’re down for Shanks thinking Ace is cute.”

 

“Keep me there.”

 

Marco pinches the bridge of his nose and counts to ten, “You do know that if Shanks was to get involved with anyone, if he isn’t already, it’s either his first mate or this bartender he’s mentioned a few times. I don’t think Ace ranks in there.”

 

“Doesn’t mean romantic,” Thatch shoots back. “Ace is adorable. His little pouty frowny face is proof enough of that. Or do we not remember it?”

 

“We are not going to have another debate about how ‘adorable’ you think Ace pouting is,” Marco cuts Jozu off before he can start. “Remember last time? You upset him so badly that he wouldn’t talk to you for weeks and then, you got pissed off that he was smiling.”

 

“He was smiling at you and we know you’re trying to steal my spot!” Thatch raises his voice as Jozu and Haruta both start talking, trying to interrupt him. “My spot, because it’s mine!, as Ace’s favorite older brother.”

 

Marco raises an eyebrow, hiding a smirk in the rim of his cup, “How do you know that Shanks isn’t out for your spot.”

 

Thatch gasps, eyes going wide in overdone horror, “How dare you? You come into my mess hall and you insult me like this?” he stops. “Shit, you’re right. What if Shanks is also competing for the best big brother? I can’t beat him.”

 

“I could,” Haruta lies through their teeth. “I am absolutely the best older brother.”

 

“Haruta, you lose to Kingdew and he regularly forgets my name,” Jozu reminds Haruta, smirking at the way Haruta’s hair seems to puff up with outrage. “You’re not even in the running for best big brother.”

 

“How about, we stop betting on Ace and just ask him?” Marco says tiredly, because he might have suggested it, but he wants them to shut up. “Ace does answer questions, you know.”

 

Jozu snorts, “Maybe when you ask them, but not when we do. Last time I tried to ask him his birthday, I got some vague mutterings about January.”

 

“His birthday is the first of January,” Marco rolls his eyes. “Honestly, just ask him. Ace hates when people poke around, when all they had to do was ask. He’s an honest person and if he doesn’t want to answer, he says so.”

 

“Gross, keep your cooties off our new baby brother,” Haruta gags. “Anyway, I’m trying to recalculate the odds for knowing one of his parents, because the nurses get catty when they think they’re being cheated and I’m not ready to fight all of them at once.”

 

Marco sighs, closing his eyes and counting to ten, because the last thing he needs is more talk about cooties and insinuations. He doesn’t even notice someone else has joined them until-

 

“What are they arguing about now,” Ace whispers, leaning close. “I could hear them up on deck when Shanks dropped me off.”

 

“They’re betting on why Shanks keeps kidnapping you. I might have said he’s competing with them on who can be the best big brother.”

 

Ace snorts, “He is my big brother. The best big brother. He’s been telling me stories about my mom, since she died giving birth to me.”

 

“You should tell me about her, if you ever feel comfortable enough to. I bet she was an interesting person.”

 

“You don’t even know her name. How do you know she’s interesting?”

  
Marco grins, “She’s your mom and you’re interesting. Is that enough?”

 

“You’re a sap, a sappy bird.”

 

“I am a respected division commander,” Marco says loftily. “Why would you dispariage my good name like that?”

 

Ace laughs, bright and loud enough to catch the rest of the table’s attention, “Respected? Are you sure?”

 

Marco doesn’t get a chance to respond, Haruta already leaning around him to catch Ace’s attention and trying to ask questions in the most round about way possible, because ocean’s forbid that Haruta ever ask something directly. But it’s nice, even if Marco would really like them to stop shouting in his ears.

* * *

  
  


Shanks frowns at Whitebeard’s ships and his allies, hand on his hip as he leans back slightly to catch a glimpse of Benn, rifle ready to snap up and shoot Sengoku, still too close to Ace for Shanks’ comfort, “This looks very much like a party,” he states, making sure his voice carries. “And I’m very upset that you didn’t invite me. Where’s the booze and food? The music?”

 

Roo snorts, “Maybe that’s our job, boss.”

 

“I do not have enough booze for this many people. And I wouldn’t share with most of them,” Shanks states before his voice becomes sharp. “You might want to give me back my little brother, Sengoku.”

 

“You don’t have any family,” Sengoku states and Shanks doesn’t need to motion Benn into action, not when Sengoku is moving closer to Ace. “Fuck.”

 

“That’s a warning shot,” Shanks says, using the smile that he had spent hours practicing after the first time he had seen Roger use it, all sharp teeth and danger, because this is the Marines finally making their play. “See, the thing is. I’m not requesting, I’m ordering. Portgas D Ace is mine and if you touch so much as one hair on his head, Benn will have you on a stone slab faster than you can say Pirate.”

 

“We can’t allow this-” Akainu doesn’t get to finish, because Benn might not know what is going to come out of his mouth, but he does know that lava is dangerous and Ace’s in seastone handcuffs. He slams back into his chair, already grasping his shoulder. “Akagami.”

 

“See, you seem to be under the impression that I’m playing a game here,” Shanks says stepping towards the bow of his ship and onto the figure head. “That this is just shits and giggles, but really I’m not  **joking** .”

 

Shanks doesn’t feel guilty as marines and pirates drop like flies, smirking as some struggle for a moment before falling down. They captured Ace. They captured him and were going to finish what they had started the day that Roger had died, finally killing Roger’s son.

 

“I thought you said that you weren’t going to join us,” Whitebeard mutters, ship just close enough to talk without shouting. “Something about it not being fun enough?”

 

“I never said that. And,” Shanks says, sparing Whitebeard a glance. “You know that the hero of the day always arrives fashionably late. If I have to be the hero,” he ignores the comment behind him that hero’s weren’t suppose to wear floral pants, these were comfortable and Shanks was going to keep wearing them, even if Benn hated them. “I am going to play the part perfectly.”

 

Whitebeard laughs, before he sobers, “You know why he’s here?”

 

“I think I know more than you,” Shanks says feeling superior. After all this was his brother, he would have to know more about Ace than Whitebeard and his several hundred children. “We’ll have to get to him first-”

 

Shanks misses the commotion that happens, just the sounds, as Sengoku goes flying from the platform and Luffy appears, uncuffing Ace.

 

“I think,” Benn says already shooting again, easily moving to another target to keep the higher ranked Marines away from Ace and Luffy both. “That if you follow your theory of how heroes work,” Shanks doesn’t know how he can do that so easily while talking. “Doesn’t that make Luffy the hero of this story?”

 

Shanks gasps, “I can’t believe you,” he wants to keep going, but he’s got work to do and a little brother to kidnap back to safety. “We’re going to talk about this later!”

 

“If you say so.”

 

Yasopp laughs from the crowsnest, taking careful aim before each shot because he had to be the most accurate, “I think he’s going to win, Captain!”

 

Shanks hisses, jumping down and growling at the young fool who’s sword caught on his, “ **Move** .”

 

It takes too long to make his way through, to battle back the idiots and knock them out, shoving Ace down with a swipe of his leg and catching a knife on the flat of his blade.

 

“I thought I told you to stay out of trouble?” Shanks demands. “What part of going after Teach, was staying out of trouble?”

 

“He tried to kill Thatch!” Ace shouts, launching some kind of attack at a group of marines trying to sneak up on them. “What was I suppose to do, just let him get away with it?”

 

“Ace knows Shanks?” Luffy demands, pouting at them both like he’s upset they didn’t tell him something so important. “Shanks likes Ace?”

 

“We can talk about this later,” Ace hisses, pushing Luffy underneath a punch. “We have to escape first.”

 

Shanks hums, “It would be so much easier with two arms. Scoop up both of you and just go.”

 

“I don’t need to be carried to safety!” Ace shouts, looking like a frazzled Roger, it’s cuter with freckles. Rouge never looked half as frazzled as Roger tended to. “I can fend for myself, Shanks!”

 

“And look where that got you, I’m not losing a little brother to his own stupidity,” he stabs his sword into a weak spot in the concrete, twisting to catch Luffy and slamming him into Ace’s arms. “You are to run to my ship and if you so much as slow down, I will drown you.”

 

“But Shanks!”

 

“If you turn around, Luffy gets hurt too,” Shanks adds, because Ace is stubborn, but he’s protective too and Shanks will play on that if he has to. “Now get to my ship. And you,” Shanks twists, catching his sword and blocking someone’s trident. “ **Go the fuck to sleep** .”

 

Ace doesn’t linger, hurrying towards Shanks’ ship and speeding up as they go. Shanks is proud, Makino had said that making Ace keep Luffy safe would make him move faster. He follows behind them, staying close to make sure that no one-

 

“What are you doing?” Shanks demands, lava pressed against his blade. “What  **the fuck, were you trying to pull** ?” Shanks growls, because that had been an attack from behind. Would have run both Ace and Luffy run through. “You know, I don’t think that you need this.”

 

Shanks doesn’t regret pouring more willpower into his next slice, not when he gets the instant satisfaction of seeing Akainu’s arm go flying off into the distance. The same arm that would have killed his little brother and his choice of successor for Pirate King. He also doesn’t regret the sea stone bullet that slams into Akainu’s other shoulder courtesy of Benn, before watching Phoenix kick him away and into a wall.

 

“Thank you,” Shanks says already moving back to cover Ace. “Come on, we’re almost there, get on the ship, Ace.”

 

“You’re so bossy!” Ace shouts, jumping up and wiggling when Roo drags him on board. “This is not what I asked for when I wanted a brother.”

 

“Well, I wanted a little brother that wasn’t an idiot, look what that got me. At least use that brain I know that you have hidden underneath all that hair,” Shanks says accepting Benn’s hand up. “I mean, you have gorgeous hair, but Ace, please think sometimes.”

 

“I think plenty,” Ace mutters into Luffy’s hair, hiding his face.

 

Shanks kneels down, feeling old when his knees creaked, he’s getting far too old for this, “Ace, I don’t want you to die. I want to keep you safe and I can’t do that when you’re being captured by people and executed. Your mom would kill me.”

 

“I think mom would kill me, instead of you, I was the one that went off and tried to stop him,” Ace glances up finally and Shanks hates how tired and underfed he looks. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome. Now, don’t move, I have to get us out of here and I expect you two to both be alive and being checked out by a doctor by the time I get back,” Shanks says mussing Ace’s hair. “Behave.”

 

“Shanks is Ace’s brother!”

 

Shanks wishes that this was a time to laugh, but it’s not. There’s people dying for his brother and an escape to make, but he’ll laugh about this later, the indignant way Luffy had shouted and was probably pouting. After all, Ace was alive and that meant there would be time for other things later.


End file.
